Environment Act 2021

Resumen

The Environment Act 2021 is the cornerstone of the United Kingdom's post-Brexit domestic environmental governance framework. Having left the EU, the UK needed to replace EU environmental law, which had provided both substantive standards and independent oversight through the European Commission and the Court of Justice. The Act establishes the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) as an independent statutory body with oversight and enforcement powers comparable to the European Commission's role. It introduces legally binding long-term environmental targets in areas of air quality, water quality, biodiversity, resource use and waste reduction, and species abundance — the most significant being a target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. Part 2 requires the government to produce and maintain Environmental Improvement Plans and to report annually on progress. Part 6 mandates 10% biodiversity net gain for new development under the TCPA 1990 regime (England), meaning developers must demonstrate a 10% improvement in habitat value as a condition of planning permission. The Act also provides powers for extended producer responsibility, deposit return schemes, consistent household recycling, and Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

Puntos clave

• Legally binding long-term environmental targets in air quality, water quality, biodiversity, and resource use (Part 1, ss.1-7) — government must set and meet 10-year targets
• Environmental Improvement Plans — mandatory government plan for improving the natural environment; must be reviewed and revised within 5 years (ss.7-8)
• Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) — independent oversight body established to monitor government environmental law compliance and investigate complaints (Part 2, ss.22-45)
• OEP enforcement powers — can issue information, decision, and linked notices; can apply to Upper Tribunal for review of government compliance; replaces European Commission infringement role (ss.32-39)
• Biodiversity net gain — mandatory 10% net gain in biodiversity value for new developments in England under TCPA 1990 as amended by Sch.14; developers must submit habitat management plans (Part 6)
• Local Nature Recovery Strategies — each responsible authority must prepare a strategy identifying and mapping habitat that should be conserved, created, or improved (s.104)
• Extended producer responsibility — powers to require producers to pay costs of dealing with packaging waste at end of life, reducing pressure on local authority waste budgets (ss.49-55)
• Water quality — new targets for river water quality and reduction of storm sewage overflows; water companies subject to drainage and sewerage management plans (Part 5)

Partes y secciones

Historial de enmiendas